Nokia CEO confident firm’s first Windows Phone will launch this year

During the CommunicAsia conference in Singapore on Tuesday, Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop said Nokia is now on track to release its first Windows Phone device during 2011. Previous reports had suggested that Nokia would release its first Windows Phone in 2012 — when it’s expected to launch as many as a dozen different devices, including at least one with a dual-core processor. “Our primary smartphone strategy is to focus on the Windows phone,” Elop said during the conference. “I have increased confidence that we will launch our first device based on the Windows platform later this year and we will ship our product in volume in 2012.” Despite the move to Windows Phone, Elop also said that Nokia has plans to launch ten new Symbian devices during the next 12 months.